How the CachePix free trial works. Choose a plan on your CachePix account page (you sign in with a code sent to your email) or in the desktop app, and Stripe Checkout opens in your browser. Monthly and Annual start with a 14-day free trial for new customers. A card is required, and you're charged when the trial ends unless you cancel. Monthly and Annual then renew automatically until you cancel. Lifetime has no trial.
What's included
Monthly, Annual and Lifetime include the same features. They differ in how you pay and in whether there's a free trial.
| Feature | All three plans |
|---|---|
| Photos and drives you can catalog | Unlimited |
| Desktop app | Mac with Apple silicon (macOS 12+) and 64-bit Windows |
| Phone apps | iPhone and iPad (iOS 18+), Android 9+ |
| Browse on your phone with the drives unplugged | Yes |
| Search | On your computer: filename, people, keywords, caption, place, event and more. On your phone: filename, people, keywords and caption, filtered by person, keyword, drive or year |
| Sync | One way, from your computer to your phone, over your local network |
| HD previews on your phone | For a capture-date window you choose (the last year by default) |
| Facial recognition or AI | None, by design |
| Cloud storage of your photos | None |
| Devices on one plan | Your computer and your phone, signed in with the same email |
Sharing with family? A CachePix plan covers your computer and your phone, signed in with the same email. There's no family plan.
Why the price doesn't grow with your library
CachePix doesn't keep your photos on its servers, so it doesn't charge for storage. No per-photo fee. No per-drive fee. No per-gigabyte fee. The price is the same whether your archive is 5,000 photos or 500,000.
iCloud Photos and Google Photos work the other way. iCloud Photos counts against your iCloud storage, and Google Photos backups count toward your Google Account storage, with a few exceptions. Both sell storage in tiers, so the cost rises as a library outgrows each one. As of October 2026, iCloud+ and Google both list 2 TB at $9.99 a month in the US. With either service's backup turned on, your photos are kept in Apple's or Google's cloud, which CachePix doesn't do. More in the Google Photos alternative without the cloud.
Your photos, previews and catalog never leave your own computer and phone. CachePix's only online service is your account: email sign-in, the plan check, and Stripe billing in your browser.
For scale, we measured one library of 190,566 photos (885.66 GB) in two folders on one external drive. The originals stayed on that drive. The phone held 8.03 GB of thumbnails, and that's the thumbnail-only figure. In that library, HD previews at the default 2048px setting came to about 349 KB each, and they download for the capture-date window you pick (the last year by default).
We measured in August 2026 on a production CachePix install: the desktop app on macOS, synced to an iPhone, with 512px thumbnails and 2048px HD previews, both at JPEG quality 80. The full breakdown is in our phone storage numbers.
Want a photo organizer with no subscription? Lifetime is a one-time purchase of $99.
The honest trade. CachePix is a catalog, not a backup. It makes your archive findable. It doesn't make a second copy, so keep backing up your drives.
What you need
A Mac with Apple silicon (M1 or later) on macOS 12 or later, or a PC running 64-bit Windows (x64). For the phone: iPhone and iPad on iOS 18 or later, or Android 9 or later. Intel Macs, Linux and Windows on ARM aren't supported. There's no server for you to install or run.
- JPEG
- PNG
- WebP
- 15 RAW formats
- HEIC and TIFF: searchable, Mac previews coming
- No video
The 15 RAW formats include CR3, NEF, ARW, RAF and DNG. HEIC and TIFF photos are cataloged and searchable, and previews for them are coming to the Mac app. Check the full system requirements before you start a trial.
Comparing prices?
Weighing CachePix against another app? See how other photo catalogs are priced, or read CachePix vs Mylio pricing. Looking for free photo cataloging software? CachePix has no free plan, but the comparison shows which apps have a free version. Questions about files, sync or privacy go to the CachePix FAQ.
CachePix pricing questions
How much does CachePix cost?
CachePix costs $4.99 a month or $29.99 a year after a 14-day free trial, or $99 once for Lifetime. Prices are in US dollars. One plan covers your computer and your phone with the same email, and all three plans include the same features, with no limit on photos or drives.
Is CachePix free?
No. CachePix has no free plan. Monthly ($4.99) and Annual ($29.99) start with a 14-day free trial for new customers, and Lifetime is $99 once. The phone apps are free downloads, but they need an account with a plan. To look around first, the phone app has a sample catalog that needs no account and no computer.
Do I need a credit card for the free trial?
Yes. CachePix asks for a card when you start the 14-day free trial on the Monthly or Annual plan. You enter it in Stripe Checkout, which opens in your browser, and you're charged when the trial ends unless you cancel before then. Lifetime has no trial, so you pay $99 at checkout.
Does the price go up as my library grows?
No. CachePix costs the same for 5,000 photos or 500,000, on as many drives as you own. The plans don't cap photos or drives. Your originals stay on your own drives, so there's no storage bill to grow. The price depends on the plan you pick, not on the size of your library.
Do the iPhone and Android apps cost extra?
No. The CachePix iPhone and Android apps are free downloads, and the plan that covers your computer covers your phone too when you sign in with the same email. The apps need an account with an active plan or trial. You choose a plan on cachepix.com or in the desktop app.
Is Lifetime really a one-time payment?
Yes. CachePix Lifetime costs $99. Pay once. No renewals. It has the same features as Monthly and Annual, but no trial. You still sign in with a 6-digit code sent to your email, and CachePix checks your plan online at least once every 14 days, so connect to the internet now and then.
What happens to Lifetime if CachePix shuts down?
Lifetime lasts for as long as SmartLink Basics, LLC offers CachePix. If we ever discontinue it, the Terms promise at least 90 days' notice, a refund of $99 prorated over 24 months from purchase, and final versions of the desktop and phone apps that keep working without an account or plan check. Your photos stay on your drives either way.
What happens if I stop paying?
Your photos are unaffected, and they stay on your own drives. The catalog stays on your computer, but CachePix locks on the computer and phone until a plan is active again. When you cancel a paid plan, CachePix keeps working until the end of the period you've already paid for.
How do I cancel?
Open Manage billing on your CachePix account page, or in Settings in the desktop app. Stripe's billing portal opens in your browser, and you cancel there. Your access runs to the end of the period you've paid for. Cancel at least one day before the trial ends.
Last checked for the iCloud and Google storage details on this page.
Sources
- iCloud and iCloud+ plans. Apple (official site). Checked October 6, 2026.
- iCloud+ plans and pricing. Apple (official site). Checked October 6, 2026.
- Set up and use iCloud Photos. Apple (official site). Checked October 6, 2026.
- Google One storage plans (US). Google (official site). Checked October 6, 2026.
- Google Photos Help: backup quality and storage. Google (official site). Checked October 6, 2026.
- Report on iCloud+ pricing. MacRumors, July 17, 2026.
- Report on iCloud+ plans. MacRumors, October 6, 2025.
- iCloud. Wikipedia, revision of October 1, 2026.
- Report on Google AI Plus pricing. 9to5Google (Abner Li), June 8, 2026.
- Report on Google's 5 TB storage plan. 9to5Google (Abner Li), April 1, 2026.
- Google Photos review. PCMag (Michael Muchmore), June 25, 2025.
- Google One. Wikipedia, revision of October 2, 2026.
- Google Photos. Wikipedia, revision of August 6, 2026.